Guardian
by Tarisch
Summary: (Spoiler Volume 3) During the attack of Grimm Hordes on Vale a Atlesian Soldier finds Jaune Arche and leads him back to the Safe-Zone, deciding to keep an eye on the crippled young boy as good as he can. What happened during the end of the battle trough a soldiers eye while focusing on Jaune and others.
1. Chapter 1

" _You_ , Miss Nikos, have choice to make." Pyrrha looked form Ozpin to the camber in front of her and back to Jaune. What decision? There was no decision, the people of Vale needed her help, that was her decision. And it was the only one.

She wiped her eye and stepped into the pod. And with a dull clang the mechanical door closed.

* * *

With a loud clang the Elevator doors opened under Pyrrhas Power before she stepped into it

"I won't let you do this." That was what he had tried to say before she had kissed him.

"She is to powerful." ... "You will just get in the way."

She knew she didn't stand much of a chance, the woman had beaten Ozpin singlehandedly.

She had stolen the maidens powers and grown to be a threat of immense power.

Her chances were slim, nearly nonexistent.

"The CCT-Tower cannot fall." ... "The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back don form a challenge."

She knew she had to fight, no matter the consequences. She was the only one near enough with even the slightest chance of defeating her.

Either she managed to defeat the woman or she would at last manage to stall her for some time.

Maybe Qrow and Glynda would arrive and manage to finish what she started.

The CCT-Tower could not fall, whatever the woman planned could not be allowed to come to fruition.

It would certainly spell death for the entirety of Vale and all who live within it.

Pyrrha could still see Jaunes face filled with fear and worry as she pushed the buttons of the locker that imprisoned him.

She hoped she would see him again.

* * *

The Atlesian Lieutenant fired another volley from his weapon before he jumped out of the way of the charging Beowolf. Windows shattered and concert crumbled from the walls as the Grimm crashed into the building that seconds before had been directly behind the Soldier who was now taking his chance and jumped on the back of the dazed creature.

He reached its shoulder just as it was about to move again, but three charged shots from his assault rifle burned holes into its head that even a Grimm couldn't survive.

The Lieutenant jumped off before the beast could start to fade and surveyed the area.

No Grimm in sight, but his partner, one of Vales Militia, was still lying lifeless on the ground.

The Sensors on the inside of his Helmet indicated no life sign. Which was no surprise, the man's blood had splattered over half of the Atlesians Amor and Uniform when the attack from the second Grimm had taken him down.

The Soldier walked over and grabbed the others man ammunition belt and dotages before pressing the release button of his Visor and closing his eyes.

He was young. How many more people had to die this night?

All around him the fight for Beacon was raging, Ironwood was building a solid safe zone near the fallen cruiser, using said ships surviving weapons and resources as a basis to draw from while getting his hands on as many airships as he could to evacuate the civilians and students.

Despite their efforts the Grimm were clawing at the city and killing uncounted people in every corner of the streets that they couldn't protect with their low manpower and resources.

The Virus that had turned their mechs against them had nearly devastated them.

And as far as he knew the battle for the CCT-Tower and the School was still raging.

Still, there was no way to duck for cover and wait for all of it to blow over now.

He had just stepped into another side street as he heard the sound of a nearby fight.

Methodically fast he moved forward, crossed the corner and aimed.

His Visor showed him a Ursa and a young blond student who was fighting with anger against the taller beast.

The Grimm had its back turned and in a matter of moments the Soldier had his gun trained on its knee.

The Dust based explosive rounds tore through its leg and crippled it enough to make it fall so that the boy could simply take a step back and put an end to it.

After another lookout for more beasts in the proximity the Atlesian moved forward, inspecting the boy thought his Visor.

He was blond with blue eyes and the exact same cloth and weaponry as Miss Goodwitch had described as she had given them his mission and the last known coordinates of his scroll.

He was also certainly not an adult, but after seeing him fight that rarely mattered.

Alone from studying him while walking towards him he could read that despite having only scratches here and there the young man was in pain.

The anger with which he fought, the nervousness of his eyes, the way he was hunched over and starring at the vanishing Grimm.

He had seen that all before.

"Hey." The Lieutenant approached carefully, the young man only now taking notice of him.

"Are you Jaune Arche, student at Beacon Academy?" he asked while lowering his gun, the student only nodded.

"We... I am here to take you to the Safe-Zone, Miss Goodwitch send me."

The young man remained silent and turned his head towards the direction of the CCT-Tower.

"She is going up there." He said almost too exhausted for the Soldier to hear.

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch and Mr Qrow are on their way to the Tower, they got your message. Don't worry."

Only now, up close could the Soldier confirm what he already had guessed. Some of the Tears on his face hadn't even dried yet.

"Are you alright? Can you walk?" His Visor told him that there was something that looked like it could be a wound on his leg that had been obscured by the Grimms body only Moments before.

The student turned towards him and nodded again.

The Soldier came another step closer and was about to warn him but the young man put his foot forward to sudden and ended up falling because of the unexpected pain.

Just as the Atlesian arrived by his side and tried to help him up a white light emitted from above Beacon and the CCT-Tower itself.

What new witchcraft was this now?

Alskdfjöaksdjfök

"She kissed me." The Lieutenant barely avoided letting out a sharp breath as he heard Jaune Arche speak again.

Three simple words and the student's appearance alone could tell more than words.

And if his story started like this, he was not sure if he wanted to hear the end of it.

They continued to stagger forward, with the Soldier supporting the young Huntsman so that he didn't have to strain his wounded leg to much.

"And then she pushed me away."

On the other hand, sometimes talking was all that was left to dull the pain, he knew that much from experience.

They walked on further, and even thought the sector was announced as mostly clear on the short distance com-network, he had still his hand on the trigger and the gun beside him at all times.

"She pushed me directly into the locker, and shot it away with me."

Once again only the unsteady sound of their feet and their just as unsteady breath could be heard as the student fell into silence for a few more moments before speaking again.

"She had no chance to win. And went to fight anyway."

He squinted. The more the other man was telling, the more he didn't like it.

But he was the only one that could listen, and had heard bad stories before.

Still, even if one had been burned multiple times, only a fool would want to get burned again.

"I... I just wish she hadn't..."

Whatever the student had wanted to say was interrupted by the loud screech of a flying Grimm that was diving for them from the night sky.

Strong hands pulled Jaune out of the way of the attack and onto the ground, only moments after the Griffon had barely missed them gunfire echoed in the streets as the Soldier opened fire.

The ammunition tore holes into the beast's body, but its speed and mobility made aiming almost impossible which meant that most of the shots never hit anything vital.

In a quick decision the Atlesian jumped up and walked directly towards the beast, focusing it on him with his salvo-fire.

He narrowly managed to avoid another diving attack with a roll to the side, braced himself as the wind from its wings nearly pushed him down and turned around again to take another shot.

This time he waited and aimed.

As the Grimm was in the middle of another dive, he took his shot.

The hit was spot on and the creature fell out of the sky without as much as moving.

As the Griffon changed flight under a last tremor the Lieutenant took a step back and was only slightly surprised to see that the young Huntsman had stepped into the path of the attack, sword and shield ready.

"It's taken care of, don't worry." The Soldier said before the monster crashed into the ground some twenty meters away from them.

The young man turned staggering around and nodded as he saw that the corpse was vanishing.

"Now, let's get the hell out of here before some more of those things show up. The Safe zone shouldn't be far."

The Soldier stepped forward and once again put a hand under Jaunes Arm to support him.

The moon was shining down upon them, throwing the shadows of uncounted monsters upon them and in the distance the sound of battle was still raging.

This night was far from over.

* * *

"...and tell Ironwood the student Miss Goodwitch was sending us out for is secure. But he is in no condition for a formal report." The other Soldier only nodded and walked off through the tight crowd towards the centre of the evacuation zone.

The Lieutenant himself blew over the small bowl of hot military grade soup in his hands that they were giving out to as many civilians and refuges as they could as he walked into the direct opposite direction.

A full stomach was a battle half won they said, but still the other half needed to be fought.

He approached the young Jaune Arche with care. The boy was sitting in a small alley on a just as small staircase hunched over from a mix of exhaustion and shock. Close enough to be save, but also distant enough to have his peace, the Soldier had chosen this place carefully.

The Atlesian knelt beside the young man who didn't even seem to notice him as his eyes stared on into nothing, hunting answers for questions that would certainly begin with 'if' many times.

Only as the smell of the fresh soup finally made its way to his nose did he notice that something had changed.

"I know, it is not the best kind of food one could wish for, but I can guarantee that it tastes quiet acceptable." The Soldier held the soup in front of him but the young man didn't take it, he only looked at it with an unreadable expression.

"You need to eat something. If you want to fight you need to be in shape, if you want to be in shape you need to eat." He pushed the bowl closer towards him and gave him a small reassuring node as the boy looked towards him.

The Lieutenant sighed inwardly over his small victory as he finally took the soup and slowly began to eat.

He fell silent as the young Huntsman emptied his bowl and looked at the uncounted numbers of civilians that passed by and began to overcrowd the place.

Every other few minutes the howling engines of another transport ship started to evacuate another group of civilians, always under protection of at last one or two Atlesian Gunships.

The Safe-zone was only narrowly avoiding falling into chaos, most Soldiers and still standing Huntsmans were positioned on the outside of the zone, holding Grimm at bay, while the civilian crowds inside said zone had trouble staying calm.

Ironwood had patrols walking the perimeter, against flying Grimm and to combat the fear and worries, while also announcing successful evacuations and calling for boarding's of the next transport and report other news and hope spots to combat the treats of yet another panic and the attraction of even more Grimm with them.

The Safe-zone wasn't impregnable but by focusing almost all their power and resources here, they at last stood a chance to get as many civilians out of vale as they could.

He pressed the button to release his Visor and moved his hands over his strained eyes just as the student managed to finish his soup.

With a quick nod he took the bowl out of the young man's hand and put it beside himself.

"Can I call you Jaune?" as expected the mention of his first name drew at last part of his attention as the student looked up and only now seemed to notice that the man opposite to him had grown a face.

"Thing is this: General Ironwood probably wants a report from you and me later on, since you were in Beacon shortly before the Dragon arrived. It would help us greatly to know what you can tell us about the attack on the academy and what happened."

He waited a moment to let his words sink in before continuing.

"You could possibly be a great help to all of us, can you do that Jaune?"

He knew he was pulling more at the young man for his own good, but he needed a way past his defences of apathy and silence. He could see how his worries were eating at him, and the sooner he was able to talk about it the less he would feel the need to bottle it up.

And he knew how poisonous it could be to do so, he had seen grown man eat themselves from the inside out until they had been nearly hollow inside before they broke down.

And hollow things had a tendency to break into pieces.

"Where you at the Colosseum when the attack began?"

Once again a silent nod.

"How did you get to Beacon academy from there? Did you get aboard a transport in time?"

The Soldier pressed on with his questions, just pushing enough to demand attention, but soft spoken enough to make him feel in control.

"We all took a transport to Beacon." The words came out slowly and careful, like Jaune had only a small amount of words to spend.

"We?"

"Ruby, her Team, Nora and Ren, all the others of our colleges... we even met General Ironwood before he departed. He said we could either run and no one would blame us, or that we could stay and fight to protect the people."

The Atlesian hid a slight smile of respect for his commanding officer.

"And you decided to fight. What happened when you made it to beacon?"

"The Grimm..."

At that Jaunes silence was finally broken, he spoke on and told the Soldier about the fight that had ensued in short and exact sentences.

He told him about how they had beaten back many Grimm but were unable to completely clear out the area even after the Atlesian Mechs were taken care of.

When he told him about how he had rushed to Professor Ozpins side when his partner did the same he noticed his voice cracking again.

The name of his partner, the girl Pyrrha Nikos, seemed to be the crux of what was eating at him.

The way he talked just a tad bit longer about her and how he described the events in the catacombs of Beacon spoke volumes.

As he talked about how he had heard her scream in pain and was taken off guard just for a moment so that a arrow could kill the other girl in the strange machine, neither Jaune nor his listener could understand, the Soldier knew for certain that she had been the girl he talked about before.

Only the end to his story was sudden and abrupt.

"That was when she turned around and ran for the elevator without looking back."

The Soldier listened up and turned his head slightly in question.

"I think you left something out in the end."

Jaune only looked up and for the first time since he met him his face changed slightly to anger again.

"I am sure I told you everything you need to know." He nearly spat out.

"You misunderstand me." The Atlesian explained while slowly raising his hands in defence.

"Everything can be important, the smallest nuance, for me and for you. I don't try to fish for words to make you fall Jaune, I want to help you."

The Huntsman in teaching backed down as he saw the man's open face that had so far only done the best in his power to help him.

"We went outside and I said I would try to contact Miss Goodwitch, but we saw how the Woman used her powers to ascend the Tower and we knew that Ozpin had fallen.

Pyrrha said that there was no time, and it must have been then when she decided to go after her."

The boy blinked and searched for words as he tried to explain what had happened next.

"I... I said I would not let her do that... I wanted to tell her that I would stop her... like I ever could! ... but she simply kissed me. For the first time."

A tear was falling towards the ground as Jaune tried to speak on.

"...And when I was distracted she pushed me into one of the rocket-lockers and shot me away."

He sniffed and shook his head, angry at his own weakness before looking directly at the Soldier with a mix of anger and gut wrenching sadness.

"There, I told you! Are you happy now!?" the Lieutenant could feel he fear and anger in his voice but did his best to remain calm.

"You love her."

Jaune only nodded while he pushed both hands through his hair in helplessness.

The Soldier shook his head slightly, it was as he had thought, if not worse, and he didn't like what this man might have to life through if things went bad.

"I am even wondering if she kissed me just so she could easier get me away." He admitted worryingly.

The Atlesian shook his head once again and put a hand on Jaunes shoulder until the student looked up and faced him.

"I have seen Soldier who were shot, under fire and at the limit of their power cast their loved ones away. Simply because despite how strong they are, seeing their loved ones getting hurt was that one wound they knew they would not recover from.

And I have also seen Soldiers kiss their loved ones in dire circumstances. There has always been only one reason, and that was because they loved them."

This time the boys tears started to fall in earnest and as he collapsed more and more into himself the Soldier sat beside him and tried to hold him up, until finally hugging.

He might only be a shoulder to cry on, but as long as it meant that at last one human was able to appease a tiny part of his inner demons, he was protecting something.

And after all, that was his job.

* * *

 **Author Note:** Basically I am not a big fan of either red shirts or easily defeat able mooks (might be the wrong show for hoping for the opposite, but whatever) so I was thinking about giving a normal soldier the spot light who tries to help Jaune to the best of his abilities while also trying to give some points to the rest of the soldier. (More to that later)

This will probably get up to 3 chapters if possible.

Also, this is my first story for this series, since i only recently got to watch, sorry for any inaccuracies if there are any.

As usual Reviews are always nice to see, be they a thumb up or criticism. Can only improve my mistakes if I get a bit (honest) criticism.


	2. Chapter 2

The Soldier walked on trough the crowd as gunfire and battle sounded in the distance.

Another group of refugees had arrived per transport and he remained on the lookout, scanning the crowd for a woman with red hair and the figure of a fighter.

He had told the young huntsman he would keep an eye out and so he did.

He and Jaune had talked for while before his duty's had called the soldier off.

The young man had done most of the talking while he simply listened.

Sometimes listening was all that one could do, and while its benefits were small it was a foundation that helped to not go crazy with ones own thoughts and keep them bottled up inside until they consumed oneself.

"I am sorry, have you seen a girl with red hair? Called Pyrrha Nikos, she is a student at bacon academy..."

The girl with the broken sunglasses looked exhausted as she shook her head and murmured some kind of apology before walking of and following a group of just as exhausted huntesman.

"...she can't be dead right? I saw her fight, she just wouldn't stand down. I have never seen her defeated. That must count for something right?"

Back then the Soldier hadn't answered Jaune right away.

"There is always a chance." he had said, trying to keep things vague.

He knew well, no matter how great your skills, your power or your determination, in the end everyone could be killed.

Be it by outclassing, overpowering or simple luck.

The only hopeful thing was that this was true for both sides.

Still, hope could be a gift just as well as a devastating poison.

And he feared that Jaune was giving himeslf the last kind.

Another transport set down on the landing zone and another group of survivors of the bacon academy emerged.

For a moment his own hopes went up when he saw red hair in the crowd but soon disappeared when he saw that is was just an ordinary student that didn't fit the description of the impeccable warrior woman.

Still, the ship had at last one other person on board he was looking out for.

"Miss Goodwitch?" as the Atleasian approached the Vale Huntress and Teacher of the fallen academy he noticed her tiered and downcast eyes before he spoke her name.

Like somebody had flipped a switch her eyes turned upwards again as she noticed that somebody was calling for her.

"Miss Goodwitch, General Ironwood is awaiting your report in the fallen cruiser, I am here to bring you."

For a moment he cursed himself, the woman wasn't even under Ironwoods command, making it sound like she had to answer to him was not a smart move.

However, the way she just simply nodded and turned to face some of her students and two Vale soldiers to relay orders and make sure her children and students were cared for was sure sign that she had more pressing issues on her mind.

As she turned around again a small group of students stood behind her and the Lieutenant turned his head questioningly as he saw what looked like the daughter of the head of schnee company.

"They are searching for someone and are going to accompany me."

The teachers words were strict and left no room for arguments, just like his old drill sergeant.

So he just nodded without a sign of argue against it."Very well then, please follow me."

As they moved trough the crowd back towards the center of the safe-zone another transport ship cleared the landing zone with yet another huge group of civilians onboard.

But still a large crowd remained that could not be completely moved over one night and with each other hour the Grimm diminished their already troubled defences.

One could only pray that hey were strong enough.

* * *

"... the local hunters are performing well on the southern and northern flank, but our combined strength only narrowly managed an outflanking in the south and the east is under constant pressure."

General Ironwood didn't even look up from the Holomap on the table as the Lieutenant entered, so he stepped aside and waited for the other soldier finish his report.

"Send Red Alpha and Blue Beta to the east, Yellow Delta can assist in the south and circle Green Gamma back into the north, they should be resupplied and have gotten a short rest by now."

The soldier nodded and left, only for one of the communications officers on the desks behind Ironwood to step up and give his report, the Lieutenant waited in stoic silence.

"We managed to contact the Vale military post in the south with long range sensors and await their arrival within the next few hours. But I fear their manpower is not enough to lift the siege or free the city."

Ironwood almost didn't react as he moved the pieces on the Holomap without the iron expression on his face changing.

The officer only waited a few more seconds in case the General wanted to inquire before he moved on.

"The red Castle in the north has confirmed the arrival of a large group of refugees but reported that they wont be able to hold many more if the stream of our ships to them continues as it is now.

Castle Okasa on the other hand reports a high amount of Grimm in their perimeter and has trouble dealing with them as it is, they advise to find another place to bring the survivors."

"We cant the Castles are he only places around that can both protect the citizens of Vale and ensure that they are supplied. Any other news?"

The Generals tone was a mix of defeat and pressure, a voice that said that any other news better be good.

"We made contact with the downed cruiser blue four. They said they are far of, in a bad shape and lost crew to their

detachment of onboard robots but the cruiser is still flying, even if their escort is nearly wiped out and they are too damaged to take one the huge amount of flyers that swarm the city."

Ironwoods expression changed from relief at hearing that at last one of his cruisers that had been caught in the crossfire had survived to anger at what had them downed in the first place.

"Did the captain also tell why he went against the regulations and got so close to another cruiser that two of them could be taken down by one shot?" His face was more annoyed then angered now, what was done was done, no sense in lamenting over it.

Still his anger remained, mostly the anger at his own incompetence.

The incompetence to protect the people of Vale and all that stood with them.

"He said it was a haste full decision to get into defensive formation before even more Grimm would storm the city. A lapse in judgement probably."

Ironwood sighted, a sight that the lieutenant knew well.

Exhaustion was not only restricted to the body.

"Send three squads and a hand full of gunships to their position, tell them to resupply and repair minor damage as much as they can. I want them on their way to Castle Okasa in an hour. We need that Castle and they are going to free it for us."

"Understood." the officer saluted and stepped back to his desk to relay his messages as the Lieutenant stepped forward.

Ironwood looked up at the soldier, checked the ID on his armour and allowed himself to rest his head on in hands for a short while.

"This s a disaster..." he murmured seemingly to himself before rising back up again and blinking the tiredness out of his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Miss Goodwitch is here sir. You told me to bring her here once she returned."

A flicker of anguish passed over the Generals eyes for the shortest of moments before he nodded.

"Bring her in." he simply demanded.

The Teacher walked trough the metallic door as soon as it was opened and strode towards Ironwood without hesitation.

This time the General was smart enough to face her instead of the Holo-map.

"We found dead White Fang on this ship, they somehow go past all our security and tricked most of the cameras. They were not the problem for my men but they had some kind of huntress with them and seemed to know our security protocols.

Not only did they manage to hack our robots they also locked all other cruisers and command centres out of the loop and also managed a shot directly at the most vulnerable part of one of our cruisers...

I will chop of my other arm if they didn't get insider information from someone deep inside Atlas."

The General shook his head at the misery and for a few seconds the Lieutenant noticed how Goodwitchs stern face wavered to reveal slight worry.

It seemed like Ironwood had not lost all of his friends.

"Please tell me you got some good news that came with the destruction of the CCT-Tower."

This time she shook her head.

"The only good news is that who ever our enemy was has fled and that the giant Grimm Dragon is frozen atop the Tower. But he keeps attracting more Grimm, some of them even leave the city to get to the academy instead, but there will always be more to take their place."

"What about Ozpin?"

"Not a trace, I only found his staff."

Ironwood looked up and squinted his eyes unbelieving.

"Where is it?"

"I gave it to Qrow since he was far away from the group and had better chances of hiding it from others. We can risk a panic after we evacuated Vale."

"Agreed. But were is Qrow now?"

"He brought his nice out of there since she was unconscious, they should be in the medical camp right now together with the rest of the wounded."

Ironwood nodded and threw a look at the lieutenant before deciding to continue.

"What about the..."

He was interrupted mid sentence as the door opened anew and a the young Schnee daughter walked in.

One of the Soldiers on Guard duty tried to hold her back but Ironwood waved him off.

"Do you have something important to say Miss Schnee?" the General asked sterner then usual, angered by the breaking of customs and order.

"No sir!" the girl replied automatic before realizing and shifting under the hard gazes of both adults.

"I... We are searching for a friend. And we hoped, that maybe... we could ask for help?"

The Lieutenant thought that if had anyone else approached him this way the General might have simply called the guards on him without another thought, and if not definitely chewed them out on how many thousands of others where on the same search and that he wasn't able to do anything about it.

But he only sighted in front of a Schnee and was about to talk when Goodwitch interrupted him.

"I told you I will ask about him. Please wait outside, I will be done here soon."

The Schnees eyes squinted and she seemed to think about talking back when Ironwood noticed something.

"What is this?" he pointed at something in the girls hands, the Soldier needed to move his head to see the golden tiara in her hands.

"It is a keepsake for a friend." the young girls face that had moments before been a expression of determination had softened significantly.

The General put his hands on the table and shook his head once more.

"Please don't tell me that this is the answer to the question I was about to ask."

When he looked at Goodwitch he was nearly looking trough her.

The woman didn't answer, but the way she avoided his gaze was answer enough.

For a short moment there was silence in the command centre, the officers behind them where typing on their machines and the Holograms on the table moved haltingly whenever another squad confirmed movement.

"Please go, I will be there soon, I promise." Goodwitchs voice was surprisingly gentle when she pushed the young Schnee toward the door which the girl hesitantly stepped trough.

"She is dead. Her Tiara is the only thing Qrow brought back." Goodwitchs voice stumbled at the first sentence as she spoke while Ironwood only slightly shook his head and sighted.

"Didn't Ozpin say she was ready? That Pyrrha Nikos was the perfect candidate?" the General asked.

The Soldiers heart nearly jumped when he heard the name and grasped the meaning of it.

He was once again thankful for the Visor that obscured his face.

"She never had the Maiden Powers to begin with, Amber was killed before that, I saw her it in the Vault." Goodwitch said, which seemed to confuse the General even more.

"The why did she not..."

"Excuse me Sir." the Soldier said and stepped forward.

"What is it?" despite his discipline the Generals voice was dangerously close to be taken over by anger and for a moment the Soldier nearly relented, but he decided against it.

"There is a boy, Jaune Arc, not far from here searching for a girl called Pyrrha Nikos."

Ironwood looked back at Goodwitch with realization in his eyes.

"Just don't tell me they were in love." barely containded anger was raging in his voice.

Once again Goodwitch didn't need to say anything, the pain on her own face and the fact that she couldn't look him in the eye was more then enough.

It might be impossible for the outsider to tell what a soldier with closed visor was thinking, but the Lieutenant reacted instinctively when he averted his eyes, the way he moved his head slightly away from Ironwood was all that he needed.

The scream was loud, sudden and short. The sound that the table made when a piece of it was beaten of was as well.

When the door opened Miss Goodwitch was already walking around the table towards the General while the Lieutenant assured the guards that there was no immediate danger.

"Ozpin said she was ready. The best he could find... I knew we should have been more careful. Ozpin should have..."

The weight of his responsibility came crushing down on the General while he tried to keep himself upright with both hands on the damaged table.

Miss Goodwitch reached out towards him and put a hand on his intact shoulder.

"I am sure he did the best he could James..."

"Ozpins best is not good enough!" the anger in the man's voice nearly let the soldier take a step back, and for a moment it looked like Miss Goodwitch would do so as well, but after a moment of consideration she put her hand gently on his neck.

He sighted and closed his eyes for a moment before using his metallic hand to pinch his nose.

"I am sorry I said that." he apologized. "It is more like the best of all of us is not good enough."

"We all make mistakes James. We are only Human." she said with a soft voice.

"Yes we do. A lapse in judgement." He neraly spat the last words.

"But we can't allow ourselves that kind of mistakes."

Ironwood was still looking straight forward and didn't notice the worry and sadness on Goodwitchs face, unlike the Soldier.

"In Battle mistakes and looses are unavoidable." she said.

He turned around slowly, recognition on his face.

"Who said that?"

"You did. Years before. I called you a cynic back then."

The General was grinding his teeth and thinking, probably about telling her people could change or some other rebuttal, but in the end he simply sighted again.

"I am sorry. It is just... non of this should have happend. Kids should be free and save, they should not be trained for a war, involved in conspiracy's and get the weight of the world loaded on their shoulders.

We should be able to protect them, damn, the girl should have worried about love and make-up for all I care!

This should just not have happened Glinda."

"I know James, I know..."

For a moment they both looked at each other, came to a silent agreement, and then broke away from each other.

The soldier saw it as his sign to step forward and the General regarded him with a short node and a exhausted but recovering sigh.

"What is it soldier?"

"With your permission I would like to inform Jaune Arc of the girls demise. I think he has a right to know about it as soon as possible." he said.

"Do me a favour and keep an eye on him, would you?" the General said with a tint of sadness in his eyes.

"That order is obsolete Sir." the soldier simply answered, gave the General a reaffirming node and turned around, Miss Goodwitch followed him after a last look back.

Just as they had passed trough the door three other soldiers walked inside to give their own reports.

They walked outside were the Schnee daughter and her two friends; one a boy in green the other a small girl in pink; waited nearby, which was were the Lieutenant stopped and turned around.

"Miss Goodwitch?" the woman looked up, being suddenly torn out of her own thoughts.

"I am grateful that the General has such loyal friends mam."

She answered his respectful node and a somewhat sad smile as they walked towards the children.

The Soldier saw the golden Tiara in the white girls had and was reminded how difficult that what laid before him was going to be.

This night was going to be long.


	3. Chapter 3

The humming of the engines was almost calming as the soldier looked at the identification-tag in his hands.

With a look out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay he noticed once again the huge difference in how things had been on the day they had first arrived in Vale and how they were now that they left it.

Back then the men had been relaxed as far as possible without breaking protocol, exchanging smokes, bad jokes and stories of what they wanted to get as souvenirs to bring home.

Genuine laughter and comradeship, it had been a pretty standard mission, bring support to the security already in place, escort the General, keep the peace.

Nobody had expected the mission to go so wrong.

Now the cargo bay was full of scared and wounded civilians with only a small group of battered soldiers as escort.

The mood had been nearly cheerful back then, now it was a grim silence only interrupted by small whispers and the occasional coughing.

In his head he could even remember some of the soldiers they had lost.

Private Copper had listened to music from his scroll and hummed badly in tune, all the while annoying Sergeant Rufus next to him.

Who had taken the Privates bad humming in stride and continued a rather shaky game of cards with three other soldiers.

Only two of the three were still alive, and neither Rufus nor Chopper had made it back to camp.

"I heard they have a fine wine on one of their outer islands. I actually hoped to bring a bottle or two of it home. You know, one for me, one for the family!"

Rufus had laughed when he had returned, unusual cheery, from his escort duty on the night the students of Beacon had thrown a dance party.

Not even the news about the attack on the CCT Tower had managed to dim the old veteran's mood.

Sadly, for the Lieutenant it now also reminded him of their first failure.

With the virus that had without doubt been placed that night their enemy had turned nearly everything they brought to defend the people of Vale against them.

He had seen Chopper getting crushed by one of their own Paladins before the mech had unleashed a salvo at a nearby civilian crowd.

Nearly halve of the military casualties alone had been caused by their own robots.

He couldn't help but wonder how the battle would have played out if it hadn't been for that cursed virus.

The Lieutenant shook his head and pinched his nose to shake the useless and unwelcome doubts of before hanging the identification-tag back to the others on the wall of the cockpit.

A song of metal on metal played as the small forest of tags where interrupted by his touch.

He turned around and towards the pilot, out of the window that was reflecting a sinking orange sun.

"All fine Sir. The other two transports are in line and on course. Our two escorts report not a single Grimm in the last two hours. Everything is in the green."

The Pilot reported as soon as he noticed the Lieutenants vicinity.

The Lieutenant in turn nodded appreciatively as he continued to look out of the window and scanned the sky for any possible treat before acknowledging that the Pilot was right and stepping back.

"If you need a rest, I am sure I can find somebody to replace you. You are flying this bird since we left in the morning."

"No worries sir, I had a few hours' worth of sleep back at Okasa. I am fine so far, and... With all due respect sir, you look in worse shape than I do."

The soldier raised an eyebrow, was it that obvious how he felt?

Maybe he should have gotten somebody to watch over Jaune Arc instead of watching out for him all by himself. The few hours he had slept in the Barracks of Osaka had been unsteady and had helped nothing against his weariness as he had always felt at sense of danger that twisted his gut.

Probably and absurdly enough only because it meant that he wasn't awake to keep an eye on the young huntsman.

He stepped outside of the cockpit and looked around, with the night once again drawing closer most of the passengers were already asleep, wounds kept down the injured and exhaustion of body and spirit kept down the rest.

He found two soldiers in a corner to his left Crimson, the female one, was focusing on renewing the bandages on Jonas arm who did his best to remain as stoic as possible.

True enough, most soldiers still able to fight were needed around Vale to ensure the ongoing evacuation that was estimated to last until midnight, if not longer.

This meant that the small escorts of the transports would consist mostly of the ones that were just strong enough to still stand.

He gave the two soldiers a quick nod that they reciprocated before once again looking trough the interior of the transport.

Only a few souls were still awake and either silently whispering among themselves or left in thoughts.

Every single one of their faces, sleeping or awake, was engraved with the shock of losing their homes, many also with the shock of loosing family and friends.

But none of their faces was as painful to look at as the young huntsman to the far right, his eyes were red and swollen and his face that unquestionably had been used to laughter and joy once had turned into a grimace of anger, sorrow and regret.

Even worse his eyes were frantically moving under his eyelids, indication of a nightmare that would haunt him for some time to come.

Just like the soldier wouldn't be able to forget how he had witnessed Jaune Arc being told about Pyrrha Nikos death.

He leaned against the door-frame of the cockpit before deciding to walk over to Jaune and his two friends that hadn't left his side since last night.

He placed himself into the seat opposite of the young man, which he had reserved for himself even thought he barely used it, as he remembered the night before.

As he had expected the young Schnee daughter and her friends were searching for Jaune back then. And he would need to lie if he was going to say he hadn't been relieved to hear that. Breaking the news to the young huntsman would be bad enough, being the only one around to console him was even worse than anything else he could imagine.

Sometimes it seemed easier to fight a giant Nevermore all on your own rather than be the one to bring the news about a loved one's death.

* * *

They had found him in the same alley were the soldier had left him, with another soldier nearby who had stood guard by the Lieutenants request.

The other soldier had excused himself with a small nod as they approached and Jaune managed to get on his feet.

He didn't see it on his face, but in the way his eyes lit up by only a small amount when the boy saw his comrades. The boy had still hope left.

But as he looked at them and didn't find who he was waiting for and was instead met with avoiding eyes and downcast faces his eyes changed.

He had looked at the Lieutenant in hopes of getting an answer.

The Soldiers face was once again hidden behind his Visor and he was thankful that the boy couldn't see the anguish on his face.

Even he needed to force himself to look Jaune in the eyes as hope turned to despair.

The only notion he managed was to shake his head distinctly.

Pyrrha Nikos hadn't made it back to camp.

Obviously the boy hadn't believed his simple gesture, shock, despair and denial battling inside him.

Instead of acceptance panic spread on his face.

His eyes looked past him, frantically searching the crowd for a glimmer of red hair, only to find none.

It was easy to see what was happening inside his head.

It couldn't be true, could it? Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl couldn't be dead right? Surely she was only wounded and just wasn't able to come herself right?

Only shock and confusion seemed to hold him upright as the Schnee girl approached him cautiously and opened her hands to reveal the golden tiara.

The boys view fixated on it and the soldier wasn't so sure if he even understood the girl in white was apologizing for not getting there in time.

With dead fingers he grabbed the tiara and looked at it with just as dead eyes.

He didn't even seem to recognize how the small girl in pink bolted forward and hugged him, tears rolling down her face.

The boy dressed in green stepped forward and put a hand on Jaunes shoulder as the Schnee girl stepped back, his face was a wavering mask of stoic sadness.

Jaune closed his eyes and pressed the tiara to his chest as the first tears emerged and his lips began to shake.

He finally screamed.

The Soldier had heard a scream like it only a few times in his life.

Once one of their track dogs had been blown up by a mine directly in front of his owner, another time when he had reported the death of a son and comrade to the father.

It was that loud guttural scream of sorrow that nobody with a heart hoped to hear in his life.

Some heads turned towards them but they moved on as the boys scream turned into inaccurate sobbing.

Everyone knew the feeling of loose on this day, they didn't need to be reminded.

Everything that had held the boy upright crumbled under his feet and his legs gave in as he continued to cry.

He dragged his two friends down with him and clenched his arms around himself as he tried to hold on to something.

His friends never left his side, the other boy was rubbing his back while the girl tried to hug him as closely as she could.

For a while nothing changed as Jaune let out his tears and sorrow as he pressed the tiara of the dead girl tightly to his heart like it was the last thing left in the world.

The Schnee daughter approached him and tried once again to apologize for a fault that wasn't here's but the boy only hide himself deeper under his arms and curled himself up.

It was as much a sign of defensiveness as it was a sign of rejection, and the Schnee girl turned away.

"He is in shock. Give him time." The soldier said as she walked by.

The girl tried to wipe the tears from her face, but it was of no use, as she looked up they were still rolling down her face.

"I I don't know when I will meet him again, please just tell him I am sorry. We should..." he could see that she wanted to go on, somehow relieve herself of the guilt she was feeling for not arriving in time, but he cut her off.

"He already knows. I am sure he doesn't blame you or anyone else for what happened."

He had spoken without a thought and only as he finished the sentence did he realize how frighteningly true it was.

The girl however came to a different conclusion than the soldier.

"Then tell him we are going to find whoever did this, and we are going to make them pay!" her voice was fire instead of ice and for a moment the Atleasian wanted to point out the danger in her words, put decided to simply nod.

"I will tell him. Don't worry, he will make it back home safe."

There was no point in overextending himself, they were all struggling to not fall apart as it was.

The girl waved at Jaunes friends that still stood guard over him before she walked away, her head held low to hide her tears.

The night moved on and Janues friends never left his side, just as the soldier left his post beside them only once.

When the morning finally came and the sound of battle in the distance finally grew quieter the three teenagers sat together on a small staircase with a blanked draped around them, Jaune protected in the middle.

As the sun climbed higher the Lieutenant got orders to move another group of civilians to one of their secured save zones.

He insisted on taking the three of them with him and none disagreed.

* * *

When they had reached Castle Okasa the Soldier had finally felt his own exhaustion as he moved his group of civilians into their reserved barracks.

A Atlesian Cruiser was hovering over the castle, his armour black from destruction on quite a few spots while smaller ships commuted between the ship and the repair dock.

The fortress was on high alert, every man they could muster and hadn't been send to Vale to assist was prepared for another Grimm attack aimed on their castle or the civilians within.

And when they entered the barracks a group of doctors and helper s already awaited them.

Their faces didn't bother to tell it but soldier had enough experience to see the tiredness in their eyes which told him that these people had focused on helping others all trough the night.

He found a place away from most of the others and signalled the trio to sit down there as he noticed the smell of fresh food and soup entering their department of the barracks.

The girl in pink jumped up and was about to run forward to collect it for them but the Atlesian signalled her to stay and walked forward himself.

The food was nothing world changing but the staff of Okasa had done their best to spice the rations they had and as he was carrying the plate back to their spot he noticed that even the military grade soup smelled a lot better then he remembered.

But maybe that had something to do with the prospect of fresh bread with butter and his own growing hunger that he hadn't even noticed until now.

When he arrived back at their spot a doctor was looking at Jaunes hurt leg and renewed the provisional bandages the soldier had applied before.

Jaune meanwhile was looking at the floor and into the distance at the same time, he either barely noticed what was going on or ignored it as best as he could.

When the doctor was finished and turned around to leave he noticed the soldier and approached him.

"I guess you know what happened to him?" the younger man asked and the soldier nodded.

"Nobody should ever have to be in his place, not at this age … not ever." he replied.

The doctor only shook his head.

"I have seen too many faces like his on a single day."

With a sight he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag with a few pills inside.

"We have too many patients to care for to make time for every single one, but I can give you this. They are just some pills to calm his mind, nothing special, not even enough to cause any significant trouble if taken all together.

They should just help him sleep a bit better."

* * *

They had boarded their next flight to distribute the civilians to other towns or homes midday and would reach their first destination early in the morning.

The humming of the engines continued as the soldier dropped one of the pills in a glass of water and returned to his seat.

Jaunes nightmare had gotten worse, his hands were frantically grasping at something that seemed to evade him, his whole body was strained and his mouth was silently whispering a certain name, it was a wonder he hadn't woken up one of his friends beside him.

With a heavy heart the Lieutenant reached forward and shook the boys shoulder.

The outside stimuli only made Jaunes movements more frantic, like he was trying to hold on to this dream that only brought him pain, that his thoughts and doubts had build for him even thought he knew himself that whatever he was reaching for would never take his hand again.

When he finally opened his eyes they were full of shock and confusion before he realized where he was.

"I am sorry to wake you, but your nightmare was going on for far too long." The Atlesian apologized and held the glass of water to his hands.

Jaune took it with shaking fingers and clasped them around it like it was an anchor to hold on to.

"I dreamed of her again." The boy admitted.

The soldier only listened, they had talked about this nightmare once before, there were only few things left to be said.

"This time I even managed to bust the locker open and run after her... but she was always just a bit faster than me."

He smiled faintly when he remembered something and whipped his eyes with his sleeve as the first tears emerged again.

"She was always better than the rest of us... always better than me..."

He sighed as more tears emerged. "I thought I ran out of tears... guess I was wrong, sorry."

Jaune tried to hide his sorrow with a wavering smile as the soldier shook his head.

"Nothing wrong with tears Jaune. Nobody can fault you for them."

The Atleasian said with conviction the second time this day.

"I've seen more people afraid when they noticed they weren't able to cry when they lost someone they had fought with for years, but even they cried later on, or mourned them in their own way.

Only a fool who didn't see their worth would not cry if they lost someone important to them."

Jaunes tears only increased and he put his hands on his head to keep himself steady.

The soldier said nothing, he knew that the young man's tears and sorrow would stay with him for a long while.

"I am still afraid." Jaune finally admitted and the soldier only nodded, he hadn't expected anything else.

* * *

Back at Okasa things had been mostly calm. No Grimm anywhere around the castle and enough supply's for a few days worth.

It wasn't too difficult to handle the group of civilians he had been ordered to care for and so the soldier had even learned the names of Jaunes friends.

The mostly calm and collected boy in green was called Ren, and while he didn't show his worries as openly as the girl the soldier noticed that his calmness was a pillar of strength for girl and Jaune, who unlike the soldier didn't seem to notice the small signs of utter sadness in the boy's eyes whenever Jaune wasn't looking.

The pink girls name was Nora, and she didn't bother to hide her tears or sadness in any way. She was mourning, that meant there would be tears or you didn't do it properly, no way around it.

But seeing her cry had its own pain to it, after all everything about her, from the way she moved and talked seemed to imply that she usually was the polar opposite of tears.

Still, she remained strong whenever she could, even if somehow a wild bear would have made the mistake to attack Jaune she would have defended him with her bare hands.

Sadly there was no bear, no open enemy to attack and defeat, only the feeling of loss and the painful departure of a dear friend and what could have been.

The soldier had listened to them talk whenever he wasn't busy with watching over the group and his men.

It was then that he heard proof that the girl with fire red hair had been more than just a simple friend.

They shared stories about her like they were trying to keep her memories alive, and for a few moments the soldier could see a extraordinary girl in front of him.

Normally he would have questioned their story's and chalked up a lot of it to them them praising her to recall the good times, but the more he heard about Pyrrha Nikos, the more he was certain that she had just been that way.

Form when she had been the first to unlock Janues Aura to when she had taken on a whole group of bully's all by herself, seldom had he heard so many stories about ones strength, courage and genteelness.

Despite the tears that the stories caused them, they were necessary.

After all, there wasn't even a body left to bury and no place to mourn her, so they did as best as they could with what they had left.

Only story's about a kind young girl that had put her life on the line to help others.

It had gone on for hours and only once did the sight of a new face interrupt them.

Nora had gone to get some food as the black haired faunus girl arrived at the door of the barracks.

Ren spotted her first and intercepted her, leaving the soldier and Jaune alone.

Like his friends had held a tidal wave back the boy's doubts came crashing forward.

"I am afraid." he admitted just loud enough that the Atlesian could hear him, water forming in his eyes once again.

The soldier only leaned forward, by now Jaune knew that he would always have a open ear for him.

"I know they say loss and the feeling of pain fades in time, but somehow that is what I fear the most." he grimaced and moved his hand trough his hair in frustration.

"I fear one day I will have trouble remembering all the story's we share about her now, one day her memory will fade, and I won't even really notice. They say, life moves on, and you will be happy again. But somehow, that seems like the worst, the idea that I might be happy without her being there."

It sputtered out of him, thought's he had held back, worried that his friends might not understand, that it would even hurt them.

"You feel like if you are going on without her it would be like treason. After all she had always been there for you and your friends right?"

The boy only nodded and the soldier sighted, he knew that feeling as well.

"I am certain you won't forget her Jaune. Even if she hadn't kissed you, even if you two never had been so close. I heard you and your friends talk about Pyrrha and I have met only few that remind me of someone like her, but I can certainly say that it is extremely difficult to forget people like them.

Sometimes the world can be a pretty dark place that is why it is so difficult to forget the people that walk on and light the way despite the darkness.

Trust me Jaune, you won't forget her, and even if you would, having heard her story's I doubt she would take kindly to her being a source of sorrow instead of a reminder to always give your best."

Somewhere deep inside him the cynic pointed out that the best one could give was his life and that Pyrrha had given just that.

But he remained silent, just like he didn't mention a old soldier wisdom, "The first wound is always the most painful." which could be applied to nearly every situation of life and also love.

The red haired girl had become Jaunes first wound, and the soldier knew that the boy wouldn't ever really forget her. He could only hope that one day he would fell less sorrow when her name was mentioned and instead be happy that she had enriched his life even if it only was for a short time.

Meanwhile the young man only looked forward lost in thought.

About the soldiers words or something else entirely, the Atlesian couldn't tell.

"I remember how gorgeous her hair looked when she had it all open once." He said with a pained smile on his face.

"And how she laughed when I asked her for a dance." His smile cracked at the memory that once had brought him joy and now only held regret and pain.

"Why did she laugh?" the soldier asked curiously.

"I promised to wear a dress to the dance if she couldn't find a partner…" Jaune said and implied the rest.

The Lieutenant couldn't help but smile even thought his heart hurt at the thought of what kind of future the two teenagers had lost.

* * *

It hurt just as well now between dozens of sleeping civilians far above the gorund when Jaune told him about another doubt that was eating at him.

"Sometimes I feel like I hate her for what she did, that I will never forgive her for it..."

The soldier understood, he had felt the same towards a few of his comrades death, not that it had helped him. He was about to speak out and warn the Huntsman who was about to make the same mistakes he had when Jaune spoke again.

"... but I don't think I can. I know all she did was for others, even sending me away and out of danger. But no matter how hard I think, I still don't know why she decided to go that way.

She knew she had no chance against that woman. She defeated Ozpin of all people, there was no way she could hope to defeat her. But Pyrrh... she went to fight her anyway."

He sighed and wiped his eyes before looking straight at the soldier.

"Why did she do it?"

The soldier leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment.

He had known this question would come sooner or later ever since he had heard the boys story.

Jaune had probably spend much of his time thinking about exactly that question. Maybe he had even found parts of the answer. But he still needed to talk about it, find some way to get his worries and thoughts out of his head, at last partly.

Just as the soldier had known that the question would come he was also long since prepared for the answer.

"I had a soldier by my side once. He was everything one could hope for in a soldier, dutiful, dedicated and most of all convinced to protect as many people as he could.

He was a good man, never turned anyone down in the need of help, always a pillar to rely on.

Even remained true to himself and his ideals no matter how hard the mission or bad our orders.

That was until the mission were we fought against extremists in a remote location.

We happened to come across a small village that had been under assault by the enemy and after we pushed the attackers back we found a few dozen survivors.

Mostly civilians, a few armed men, but most of them elders, children or wounded.

We assured them we would get them out of there before the next attack group came for them.

But then we got the order to withdraw, an even bigger force was on their way to attack a main village and command gathered as many soldiers as they could to at last repel them.

Which was why they could only send one transport ship that would barely be able to hold our unit.

They said they would send another one to get the civilians out but we all knew that they had their hands full already and that the transport wouldn't make it in time

I don't blame command, they had made a difficult decision with the few resources they had at their disposal.

We all prepared to leave, expect for the soldier by my side.

He was torn but argued to stay.

The sergeant knew that he wouldn't be able to force him to come with us and three others even came to his aid.

I nearly would have stayed with him, but I was honestly afraid, and I knew as well as they did how their story would end.

They stayed with the civilians and we left.

We barely managed to hold of the bigger attack even thought we paid a high price in blood.

We were also the first to return to the village.

They were all dead, civilians, children and the four men that had decided to stay."

The Lieutenant fell silent as he remembered how the rest of the unit had reacted to the slaughter before them. Some had cried, some had damned their enemy's, and a few of the veterans had simply taken it in sad silence. They had seen this before.

He had been one of the first kind.

"For years I wondered if we had made the right decision back then, despite certain death.

In the end it didn't matter, I wouldn't be able to turn back time or bring the dead back from their grave.

I can only hope to make the right decision should something like it occur again, even thought I still don't know which is which.

In the end I also wondered what had that soldier convinced to take this stand despite knowing full well that his chances of succeeding where as slim as soft rain putting out a wild fire.

I came to the conclusion that it was just who he was.

He knew the people of the village where certainly doomed if we left them, even him staying there brought them only a small chance of survival.

But leaving them to die even though he could give them a small chance at survival wasn't a possibility.

Jut like Pyrrha must have known he chances of success where minimal, she also knew that the black haired woman's success would spell certain doom upon vale.

Pyrrha put everything on one card.

She went and fought just like this soldier, because she had to, because no one else would, no one else could."

Once again Jaune only looked at the floor, left in thought for a long while.

"I guess I understand. I just wish she hadn't. I wish I could have helped." he finally admitted and the soldier nodded.

"It wasn't your fault Jaune, not even Pyrrhas. None of this would have happened whiteout the black haired woman you described. I won't tell you to not blame yourself, I am not in your place. But you and Pyrrha both gave the best you could, trying to find the faults of the past behind reason will only freeze you in inaction and doubt.

And something tells me that the world will need talented huntsman in the future, now more than ever."

They continued talking for a while before Jaune finally drank his glass and came to rest soon after.

The Atlesian looked from one of the trio to another, all three sleeping.

As he decided to close his eyes he thought he saw Nora blink for a moment but that was when sleep finally overtook him.

* * *

In his sleep he remembered how he had approached the trio on Osaka one hour before their planned departure.

Jaune had still been sleeping uneasily so only Ren and Nora had been awake to be told when the transport would leave.

"...we will arrive at Jaunes home last, if your home is on the way I will make sure you can come on board with us."

The two only looked at each other only for a short moment before deciding.

"We will come with him, no matter what." the smaller girl exclaimed without leaving place for discussion.

"What she means..." Ren added on. "... is that with the fall of Beacon we don't really have a certain place to go. And we think that Jaune needs us. We will go home with him."

"And you won't separate us." Nora added on.

The soldier didn't know if that was a threat or a certain statement, but he knew it was true regardless.

"Jaune can be happy to have friends like you." he said.

"And we are grateful that you keep looking out for him." Ren answered while Nora gave him a respectful nod that couldn't be weighted in words.

He raised an eyebrow, he had held himself in the background since they arrived but the two had apparently noticed him even there.

"We will be going in an hour, don't forget to tell Jaune when he wakes up."

As he left he knew he was right. Jaune couldn't be more grateful to have friends like them.

Lkjaödlskfjöaldkjsf

The soldier woke up early in the morning when the sound of the engines changed.

For a quick moment he already saw a group of Grimm attacking the convoy but soon noticed that the change of sound was simply the transport reducing its speed for the first landing of the day.

As he looked around he saw that Noras seat was empty and that she was walking around in the small space directly in front of the cockpit, probably to shake the tiredness of her legs.

Ren still seemed to be sleeping as the people around them slowly began to wake up one after another.

But Jaune was awake, even if it seemed like he had just woken up and his look was unusually dark and strained.

There was something in his eyes and his distant look that didn't sit right with the Atlesian.

"What is torturing you?" he asked the young man, straight cutting to the case.

"I dreamed again." he answered, giving a short pause to collect his thoughts before continuing while the soldier only wiped the sleep out of his eyes and changed his position to understand him better.

"It wasn't as much about Pyrrha this time. It was about that black haired woman.

She was mocking me about Pyrrhas death, laughing that I couldn't save her.

I tried to hunt her down, ran after her, but she was always one step ahead."

The woman had been the last thing they had talked about, it was only normal for his mind to try and find closure for the last thing that had bothered him.

Only that there was no closure this time.

"Her time will come sooner or later Jaune. She will pay for what she did, but don't let her cloud your judgment."

The soldier stood up with a feeling of guilt in his stomach. If he hadn't mentioned the woman yesterday maybe Jaune wouldn't have that dark look on his face.

He approached the cockpit and found Nora playing with a little boy.

"... no, he is not the man that saved your mommy." the two interrupted their play as the Atlesian walked by and he could see the child pointing at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"But, he is wearing blue, and he looks the same." the soldier didn't turn around when he heard the child's voice but stopped long enough to hear them.

"That's because they all wear a uniform, the other man you saw is certainly in a hospital right now and the doctors look after him."

He could hear the lie in Noras voice, whatever she knew about the story of the boy, she didn't even believe her own.

The other soldier was probably long dead.

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A fourth time this day the sounds of the engines changed as they slowed down to their last halt.

"This is our last stop. We refuel and resupply here. And we will change the pilot this time."

The Lieutenant shot the current pilot a determined look, who in turn only shrugged.

"I am flying just fine sir, It's only going to be a problem if we run out of coffee."

"Crimson is going to take your place as soon as we land, get some rest then. Anything new from Vale or Ironwood?"

"Only the usual, they seem to be certain to be able to evacuate the last civilians before the night sets."

"Hopefully, they are right."

The soldier felt a sudden change in his stomach as the transport changed altitude.

With the transport still in descend he walked back out of the cockpit and towards his seat.

It didn't take long for the three transports and their escorts to touch down on the ground and soon the hangar bays opened to let out the first group of civilians.

Local militia was securing the area and kept a few waiting relatives and onlookers in place.

Many more tears where added to the score, both from happiness at seeing a missed one alive and from sadness of hearing about the demise of another.

As the trio was about to emerge the soldier stepped forward once more.

"I know your home is a bit off to the side. Its a bit of a walk and I would like to bring you there.

Make sure that you guys reach your place save and sound, is this alright?"

Ren nodded with a smile and while Jaune agreed without raising his head.

The Atlesian eyed Jaune with worry while the boy packed his bag, the serious look hadn't left his face since the morning.

Only when Nora knocked on his shoulder with a friendly wink and followed Ren and Jaune out of the ship did the soldier notice that was falling behind.

* * *

It was only a halve a hour walk towards the Arc home but the soldier was grateful that he could move his legs freely again.

They only spoke rarely as Jaune was still brooding over his thoughts, the woman that had killed Pyrrha and turned his first kiss into a bitter one.

His friends seemed to feel it, and even thought Nora asked him what was wrong he didn't give a straight answer.

He probably didn't wanted to bother his friends with his troubles.

The soldier followed behind them when Ren walked up to Jaune and tried to talk to him.

Nora sighed and let herself fall behind until she was on the same pace as the Lieutenant.

"He hasn't slept very well." she noted with a look at Jaune.

"Few did." the soldier said tight lipped.

"I think you are a good guy you know." he turned towards her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"You didn't need to take care of Jaune, but you did. Even after I and Ren arrived. You seem like a good guy to me." she explained while gesturing with her hands.

"I am only doing my job." he said with less conviction then he had hoped, Nora only looked at him with disarming disbelieve.

They both knew that wasn't the whole truth.

" I heard you two talk last night, I am happy you did, and I am sure that's not necessarily part of the job." She gave him a huge smile that did leave him wondering how she managed it despite the pain she had been trough herself.

"Anyway, I only wanted to thank you for looking after our friend. You did a good Job!" she said and gave him a thumbs up.

He smiled as well when he noticed the answer to his question.

Sometimes the saddest people smiled only so that others would do the same.

"Thank you. I am sure you and Ren will take good care of Jaune." he had nearly said his last sentence as a question, but knew that would have been a unnecessary one.

Nora nodded with certainty as the trees on both sides of the street made enough space so they could see the Arc home not far from them.

"Nora, could I talk with Jaune for a moment before I leave you?"

The girl looked at him like he had asked a utterly silly question.

"Of course, what did you think?" she said and walked towards Ren, pulled him away towards the Arc home and left Jaune behind.

"Jaune, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked the still worried young man.

For a moment silence stood between the soldier and Jaune until Jaune broke it.

"Thank you for..." he began, but was cut of short.

"No need to thank me. I am thankful that I could be of help to you, its part of my job.

The only thing I want to ask of you now is that you listen to me."

The boy nodded and turned towards him with tiered eyes, the same eyes that the soldier feared would one burn with hatred.

"The Schnee girl in Vale... she asked me to tell you that she is going to do everything she can to find the one who did all this and make them pay."

Jaune blinked as if he remembered her but couldn't say anything as the soldier talked on, trying to not get it wrong and to say it right.

"She felt guilt over what what has happened like many of us. And when she told me that, in that short moment, revenge for Pyrrhas death she wanted, not justice."

Once again the soldier made a short pause so that Jaune could understand what he was trying to say.

"When you told me about your nightmare from last night I hear a similar voice, different but same nonetheless.

I can't tell you that you should search for justice, because I can't even honestly tell you there is any justice for what you lost.

I can't honestly tell you not to search for revenge either, I don't know what I would do in your place.

What I can tell you however is that I have seen a few people who followed the path of revenge and it is a burning path.

If revenge is that great fiery sword that can burn your enemy's, it is also a sword that won't leave you unscathed, if you even manage to survive it.

I can't tell you which path to walk, you have to decide yourself.

I can only warn you and hope that give my words some thought before you start walking or even during it. You don't have to walk a road until it ends."

Jaune nodded slowly and blinked like he tried to wake up again. The soldier wasn't to sure if he had understood his worries or what he had tried to say. But it seemed like at last a part of it was getting to him, and that was all he could hope for now.

"I want to thank you anyway." Jaune said slowly

"You didn't have to help me as much as you did. I hope I can repay you one day." the boy admitted.

"You would do me the greatest favor if you would just look after yourself. Can you do that?"

Jaune nodded and sighted as the soldier made a step back.

"Take good care of your friends, you will need each other. And good look with whatever you do next Jaune Arc."

The Atlesian gave Jaune one last respectful nod and waved at Nora and Ren who already stood at the door bell.

They waved back and the soldier turned around to walk back to the transports.

When he reached the first trees he turned around and saw three girls emerging from the house-door.

They were just as blond as Jaune and pulled him into a hug that would have made a bear proud.

Relieved laughter reached his ears as the sisters saw their brother save and whole in front of them before they moved on to welcome his friends.

When a older woman appeared at the door frame and showered Jaune with affection the soldier knew that Jaune Arc might be in bad shape now but that the ones around him would do their best to keep him from falling apart.

And if given time he would certainly recover, even if some scars would always remind him of what he had lost.

He smiled and turned around before walking down the avenue towards the extraction point while listening to the songs of the bird in the trees.

Despite the short moment of peace he felt he knew that the battle for Remnant was far from being over.


	4. Author Note

Author Note: Finally managed to finish this. I think Jaune would have all the reason to want revenge for what happened, and since it is kind of a saying that revenge is a fire that not only burns your enemies but also yourself I thought it should be a mentioned here. And it would be a good way to follow the fate of the person he was based on without setting him literally on fire…

We're will it go from here? Waiting for volume 4. If this doesn't go anywhere, the soldiers warning probably worked…

Maybe I will make two more short stories around the aftermath of volume 3, depending if there are people who will read it.

(it's always a bit hard to tell if you don't get some reviews.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and maybe I will see you again.


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